Orenstein to Speak on Issues of Work, Family and Feminism

Author Peggy Orenstein's lecture is called “My So-Called Life: Writing on Love, Ambivalence, Infertility, Cinderella and the Modern Female Experience.”

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Peggy Orenstein -- author of “Waiting for Daisy: A Tale of Two Continents, Three Religions, Five Infertility Doctors, An Oscar, An Atomic Bomb, A Romantic Night and One Woman's Quest to Become a Mother” -- will speak about her writing career, experience with infertility, what it is to be a “contemporary woman,” and other topics when she lectures Wednesday, Feb. 28, at Northwestern University.

Not one to shy away from long titles, Orenstein's lecture is called “My So-Called Life: Writing on Love, Ambivalence, Infertility, Cinderella and the Modern Female Experience.” Free and open to the public, it will take place at 4 p.m. in Room 107 of Harris Hall, 1881 Sheridan Road, on Northwestern's Evanston campus. A book signing will follow.

A contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine, Orenstein has received awards from the Council on Contemporary Families, the Commonwealth Club of California, the National Women's Political Caucus of California, and Planned Parenthood for her writing about and advocacy on behalf of women and children.

“Waiting for Daisy,” which will appear on the New York Times' upcoming extended best-seller list Feb. 18, documents Orenstein's real-life battle with infertility and the painful decisions that go with it. She says she wrote the book in part because she was frustrated by “punitive media messages that reduce young women to their child-bearing potential and that warn them to “marry 'Mr. Good Enough,' and back-burner their careers or miss out on having a child.”

The author of “Schoolgirls: Young Women, Self-Esteem and the Confidence Gap,” and “Flux: Women on Sex, Work, Love Kids and Life in a Half-Changed World,” Orenstein is former managing editor of Mother Jones. She has written for The New Yorker, Vogue, Elle, Discover, Glamour, Salon, and other publications. Her work has been included in many anthologies, including “The Best American Science Writing” (2004).

Orenstein's visit is sponsored by Northwestern's Medill School and Women's Center. For further information, call (847) 491-5401.